Big 'ol garage sale

Want something?  charlytri (at) yahoo (dot) com.

 I also have a nice carbon 29" wheelset with DT hubs that I have to clean up for sale as well.  Those will be $850.

2012 Trek Superfly 100 Pro 17.5", $4,250, So you want to ride like the cool guys, I got the bike.  The bike itself has a few tiny chips and some wear on the cranks, but as a whole it is fantastic shape and stock except the new XR1 bontrager tires.  The seatpost/seat/stem/handlebars/grips/tires are all brand new, never ridden.  The chain is very new as well.  I have not had a chance to ride this bike much as life is unfair.

New 2012 Bontrager 29" Race X-Lite Wheels, 15mm thru axle front, 142X12 thru axle rear, smoooooooth bearings, light and fast.  $400

2012 Fox RP23 shock with Kashima coating, very low miles, 7.25"x1.75" $220

Brand New Sram Black Box Ceramic bearing Bottom bracket, GXP, use with your truvativ/sram cranks, $125

Brand new, MRP chain guide to go 1x on your drivetrain.  Direct mount E2 mounting.  Just use one ring upfront!  $30

Cheq 40, First place?

Back up in Cable for what is the world championships of mountain biking for some people.  Me?  I enjoy the weekend, but the race is not exactly my style.  That is alright.  With almost no hard riding in the last several months I figured if I was going to be slower I might as well have more fun with it on the fat bike.  So out came the 907 after a several month hibernation.

This year there are corrals, and I found my place at the back of corral 1.  The controlled leadout was uneventful, then we turned onto Hwy 77 were the ATV opens it up and the speed goes nuts.  Right as I took that first pedal stroke to speed up the Big Fat Larrys the drive train locked up and I found myself at the side of the rode trying to salvage a badly bent and cracked chain guide for my single ring in front.  After a few minutes of getting it so it didn't rub too bad I found myself in the back 100 riders.  Wow, that was wild.

I set out hard on the 2 miles of pavement looking at a wall of riders everywhere.  Weaving through little gaps I passed hundreds of riders before hitting the grass.  Rosie's field had the typical 2 lines of riders and then me off to the side in the tall grass passing riders in 10's and 20's.  The birkie trail was worse as the course was now narrower.  There is the fast line, then the mowed part, then were I spent a lot of time; the uncut grass on the side.  Again, gobs of riders were a blur to me as I TT'd my way to a better placing. 

The legs felt great, soon the lungs were acting up.  I am an idiot as I have to remember at some point to use my inhaler.  I dropped the pace some to let the lungs open and I found myself still passing lots of riders.  It felt like I was playing with trick candles because I would pass a huge amount of riders only to turn a corner and see a plethora more (Would you say they are a plethora of pinatas?).  By the time I hit Hwy 00 I figured I must have been over the 1,000 riders passed marked and I was really starting to feel it.  I would see The Legend soon after and that gave me motivation to keep away from a fellow fat rider for a bit.  Then I went into a more conservative mode, but still managed to get those big wheels up fire tower in the 32 with no dabs.

I ended up in 388th place, my worse finish ever but possibly my most impressive race (best was 26th).  By far, this was the most cooked my body has ever been after racing the 40.  I hear the I was fastest fat bike out there on my 907.  I am not sure what to think of that fact.  The wife completed her goal of sub 4 hours which was awesome.  She is a runner and does just the one race a year.



Sunday brought the Cable Crit Cross, a short course with barriers and a solidly steep punchy climb.  A 2 lap TT decided if you were in the finals or the consolation race.  I managed to hit the earth pretty hard in a crash in the TT and found myself just out of the finals. I was able to win the consolation 4 lap round without going deep into what reserves I had, and then managed to beg my way into the finals were I finished midpack of 12 or so riders.  Mind you, this was all on my fatbike still.  I was happy considering my lack of racing lately.

Today the body is sore from the crash.  I was still picking sand out of my ears and nose last night from kissing the earth as well.  Fun times.  This weekend the wife and I look to obtain the title of coed champs at the Treadman Duathlon.

Cheq 40

Are you a pathetic loser that has nothing to do the night of the 40?  Eat supper and then come on over to our place at 16245 Frels Rd., 1/3 of a mile off Telemark.  Fire and comedy provided, alcohol is in limited quantities.  Come and hang out.  It will be fun!

The Northwoods Adventure

So this last weekend was a blast.  The Gravel Conspiracy Northwood's Adventure run by the lying Josh Stamper was fantastic.  It was a 3 day stage "race" of about 290 miles, all boarding the Boundry Waters Canoe Area.  I say race in only the loosest of terms as it was more a ride than anything else.  My only goals were to ride lots, have fun, enjoy my time with other riders, and see a moose that Josh pretty much said there were so many we could take one home with us.  I was a little worried about the length as after taking an audit of my ride time this summer, I probably averaged 4 hours a week (busy).  The week before the event I had gotten out for 14 hours.  I like to call it reverse tapering.

Day 1 started in Grand Marais.  We would ride 45 miles that seemed to be mostly uphill and in a headwind.  Add in a slight chill and a touch of rain it was a fairly tough 45 miles.  I ended riding with my buddy J-No for most of the day.  We would end at the Bearskin lodge were Josh had prepared Supper that night and Breakfast the next morning.  It felt like first class for this rugged bunch. 

Day 2's start was a loose affair for the 125 miles in front of us.  We all started when we felt, some earlier, some later, all around 8:30.  The core group I rode with for the day was J-No, Josh "Rainbow Rider" Peterson, and Ted "Got the munchies" Loosen.  We fought wind, cold, rain, and gravel throughout the day.  At the 100 mile mark our ATV trail turned into an abandoned old forest trail that was slow going and an eventual dead end.  Using GPS's we realized we were off course (there was a mistake in the directions that could have ended poorly for many people out there).  Bushwacking through some serious terrain for an hour had us heading back to a real trail.  We would scoop up other groups of lost souls and eventually find our way to Ely.  Eventually everyone would be fine, but our gear didn't get to us until 10pm.  We had ourselves an adventure and lived to tell about it.

Day 3 was again a loose start.  Quickly our group got back to our original 4 plus a sleeveless Eddie Karow.  This would prove to be the best day yet.  115 miles of gorgeous views, fantastic weather, pristine lakes, and quiet unique roads.  We had a lot of fun that day and it was a great way to cap the weekend.

I want to thank Josh for the event and the supporters, (Salsa Cycles, Cyclova XC, 3 Stars Cycles, and A Train Bikes).  That weekend was a blast!!

 This is our "start line". 

The paved run out from town.

Breakfast on Bearskin lake.  No complaints.

Day 2 group I rolled out with which would change before the finish.


Rolling around mile 35ish on day 2.

It was a little chilly, rainy, and a nice little headwind at this point.

On ATV trails, hoping to get lost.

Our little trail would bring us by one neat area after another.

Day 3, this is the ATV trail we should have been on yesterday.

Our day 3 crew Eddie, Rainbow Rider, J-No, Ted "Hey guys wait up" Loosen

• We rode by many a remote lake on day 3.  I wanted to enjoy it, Ted wanted to pee in it.  We all have our ways of enjoying nature.

This is 1 of 2 businesses we saw in 290 miles.  We had to stop just because, then a mad tether ball game broke out. 

The only moose I would see all week end.  Damn you Josh Stamper!!

The Sunday crew along with Josh Stamper and a Fargo.  Is there nothing a Fargo can't do?

Mini update.

So I am headed up to The Gravel Conspiracy Northwood Adventure tonight.  This is a 3 day, 300 mile stage race/ride (not sure which) on gravel backroads butting up against the Boundry Waters area.  I only started the planning/packing phase today while dealing with the two rugrats.  Add in removing part of a tree that dropped on a tenant's car and it has been a busy day.  I have pictures of rides from up North on the CAMBA trails that will have to wait I guess.

I'll miss the family, but at the same time I should have fun on the bike.  The funny part is while most were probably scaling back their riding, I rode about 3 times the amount I have been all summer.  That is not saying much about my summer riding.  Gotta go, lots to do.